"Häxan" is a bizarre film, one impressively photographed with a unique narrative structure. There are many varied perspectives on it, because, as fellow commenter mmmuconn pointed out, director Benjamin Christensen presents the film from various perspectives. I prefer the facetious and fantastic perspective, when the film's seriousness is dubious: the fictional drama of witchcraft and the trials, mostly. The documentary perspective, with the slideshow and end hypothesis that witch-hunters misunderstood hysterical women for witches, is vapid at times, if not sexist, especially given that the hypothesis is now outdated as the belief in witches with supernatural powers.
Yet, to incorporate these perspectives and different means of storytelling, as well as multiple story-lines, is innovative and interesting in itself. Christensen connects them via intertitles and the use of the same actors, as well as having the fictional characters connect the stories. Christensen's narrative voice in the intertitles is occasionally bothersome and condescending, but it adds consistency and unity to the entire production. Still, as a documentary, the film fails and is unenlightening.
As visual delight, however, in addition to the well-crafted narrative structure, it succeeds. Christensen had mastered visual style with his two previous Danish films: "Sealed Orders" (Det Hemmelighedsfulde X) and "Blind Justice" (Hævnens nat) (both of which I've actually seen). This includes the use of low-key lighting, silhouettes, tinting, transitional effects, masking the camera lens and camera movement. Something new is the nighttime photography. The use of close-ups during the trial does well to create intensity, which fellow Dane Carl Theodor Dreyer would make extreme use of in "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) (1928).
The shots of witches flying on broomsticks are perhaps the most remarked on and most innovative, involving a miniature model, superimposed images and a moving camera. From there, the old seamstress tells the inquisitors of images of humor, perversion, profane occult rituals and the grotesque. The costumes and sets add to the dark atmosphere. Christensen delights in playing the devil himself. He had played major roles in his previous films, including a monstrous turn in "Blind Justice", and, here, his performance helps to further link the narratives. "Häxan" was an ambitious film, and although it doesn't work entirely, it's a landmark achievement.
(Note: The 1968 condensed version "Witchcraft Through the Ages", with narration by William S. Burroughs and a jazz score, is an abomination.)
Yet, to incorporate these perspectives and different means of storytelling, as well as multiple story-lines, is innovative and interesting in itself. Christensen connects them via intertitles and the use of the same actors, as well as having the fictional characters connect the stories. Christensen's narrative voice in the intertitles is occasionally bothersome and condescending, but it adds consistency and unity to the entire production. Still, as a documentary, the film fails and is unenlightening.
As visual delight, however, in addition to the well-crafted narrative structure, it succeeds. Christensen had mastered visual style with his two previous Danish films: "Sealed Orders" (Det Hemmelighedsfulde X) and "Blind Justice" (Hævnens nat) (both of which I've actually seen). This includes the use of low-key lighting, silhouettes, tinting, transitional effects, masking the camera lens and camera movement. Something new is the nighttime photography. The use of close-ups during the trial does well to create intensity, which fellow Dane Carl Theodor Dreyer would make extreme use of in "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) (1928).
The shots of witches flying on broomsticks are perhaps the most remarked on and most innovative, involving a miniature model, superimposed images and a moving camera. From there, the old seamstress tells the inquisitors of images of humor, perversion, profane occult rituals and the grotesque. The costumes and sets add to the dark atmosphere. Christensen delights in playing the devil himself. He had played major roles in his previous films, including a monstrous turn in "Blind Justice", and, here, his performance helps to further link the narratives. "Häxan" was an ambitious film, and although it doesn't work entirely, it's a landmark achievement.
(Note: The 1968 condensed version "Witchcraft Through the Ages", with narration by William S. Burroughs and a jazz score, is an abomination.)